The Xia Dynasty

One of the Ancient Chinese Dynasties we would like to introduce is the Xia Dynasty. It is regarded as the first dynasty in ancient China. It had a duration of more than 500 years and was ruled by 17 distinct emperors after Shun, the final of the Five Emperors, abdicated, and the legendary Yu the Great established the Xia Dynasty.

During this time, it is common for the Yellow River to flood, which harms the area greatly and impedes social and economic advancement. Numerous tribes banded together to control and stop the Yellow River flood. Emperor Yao then tasked Gun, the father of Yu with halting the deluge. To stop the flow of water, he gave the order to build substantial dikes. However, following nine years of laborious dike and dam construction, Gun's strategies ultimately fell short, resulting in several fatalities as his constructions crumbled under the weight of more powerful floods. The Shun emperor later gave the order to confine Gun for the rest of his life at Yushan, a mountain that stands between present-day Linshu County in Shandong Province and Donghai County in Jiangsu Province. In contrast to his father, Emperor Shun has great faith in Yu. He, therefore, designated Yu to carry on his father's efforts in flood mitigation. Yu's approach in this piece differs from his father's. He gathered individuals from all tribes and instructed them to assist him in constructing canals in all the major rivers that were overflowing in order to direct water to the sea.

Due to Yu's ability to stop the floods, the Xia tribe's strength developed along with agricultural output, and Yu eventually rose to prominence as the head of the neighboring tribes. Soon after, Shun despatched Yu to command an army to subdue the Sanmiao tribe, who had been mistreating the border tribes on a regular basis. He vanquished them and banished them to the southern region around the Han River. The Xia tribe was much more powerful after this triumph. Yu was commended by the people for his endurance and inspiration that led other tribes to engage in the effort as a result of his commitment to it. According to legend, he successfully finished the flood protection job for 13 years, but despite having passed by the house three times, he never went home to rest.

In his regime, talent was given more weight than ancestry when selecting emperors. However, his son Qi instituted a hereditary system of succession upon his passing. Thus, all fifteen of Qi's children succeeded him after his passing. Agriculture was the major source of employment at this time. Stone and bone were often used to make farming implements during this time, while bronze was also widely used.

In short, the Xia Dynasty:

• existed from 2205 to 1766 BC and was ruled by 17 distinct emperors after Shun.
• Yu the Great was a legendary emperor who has great merit in stopping the flood of the Xia Dynasty.
• ended with Emperor Jie. He is a despot who never considers his subjects and just cared about his own extravagant lifestyle.